


Nikki in Ikebukuro!

by Nekaneka321



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Eventual Sex, Eventual Smut, F/M, I'm Bad At Tagging, Original Character(s), Slow Burn, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-16 09:47:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29574117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nekaneka321/pseuds/Nekaneka321
Summary: A rider wearing all black, the only thing that wasn’t black was the yellow helmet.  The motorcycle didn’t sound like other cycles, no it was like a combination of neighing and revving.  As the mysterious person drove past her it felt like the pair made eye contact, even though she couldn’t see through the face shield on the helmet.Ikebukuro, the city that never sleeps.Shizuo x OC**Mature Content in later chapters**
Relationships: Heiwajima Shizuo/Reader, Orihara Izaya/Reader, Reader/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. Nikki

**Author's Note:**

> Hey readers, this is my first Durarara!! fanfic, it's a slow-burning romance so I hope you enjoy the ride.

“Would you chill out for like two seconds? I’m excited too but all the jumping you’re doing is making me think this plane is experiencing turbulence.”

Lena made a face at her friend before calming down a bit to look out the small window she was sitting beside. Nikki lightly shook her head as she looked through her phone. The duo would be arriving in Tokyo in less than thirty minutes and they were ecstatic. Nikki got the job offer of a lifetime and she didn’t hesitate in taking it.

She traded the mundane boring life of a lower-middle-class college student, folding tables in a clothing store to a part-time IT specialist in another country. Not bringing her best friend would’ve been a crime. As soon as Lena found out her best friend was moving to Japan she broke the lease to her apartment and packed everything she could before tagging along with her friend.

“Do you think we’re going to meet any hot Japanese guys? Wait where did you say we were going to be staying?”

Lena went through Nikki’s carry-on looking for her the small notebook that held everything her slightly organized friend had on their new home. When she found the notebook she flipped through it looking for the name of the apartment complex they would be staying in.

“The company is paying for our house for the first five months but after that, we’re responsible for rent so that means you need to find a job, Miss. Otaku Queen. I hope all those years of watching anime helped with your Japanese because you’re going to need it.”

Nikki laughed at her own comment as Lena stuck her tongue out.

“I know enough to get me by. I just need to work on idle conversation but I have a few months to do that since we don’t have to worry about rent as you said. I’ll work in a manga store or somewhere I can dress up as a Love Live character.”

Nikki shook her head as she looked back at her phone. She was looking at Ikebukuro's current events to see what kind of things were going on in the city they’d be living in. Aside from this mysterious “Headless Rider” it didn’t seem like there was much going on there.

A Headless Rider? Nikki made a face at her phone as she clicked on the home video someone took with their phone. To her, the video looked like a person riding an incredibly loud motorcycle through the streets. For a minute it almost sounded like the motorcycle was neighing?

She shook her head and read the caption on the video, “The City That Never Sleeps”. The more looked up this headless rider the more nervous she became. Was living in Ikebukuro really as great as she thought it would be?

The soft dinging of the ‘please fasten your seatbelts’ sign pulled Nikki out of her daze. She did what she was told before putting her phone away and looking out the window. Japan’s busy cities were in sight and she could be any more excited.

Once the plane landed the duo made sure to grab everything they had and made their way into the large city hopping into the first cab they could hail.

“Hi, we need to get to Ikebukuro, please? Preferable closest to the 3K House at Toshima-Ku.”

The driver nodded taking off, leaving the two females in the back squealing with excitement every time they passed by a large billboard showing an anime they watched or a pop idol they knew.

“Hey look, it’s Yuuhei Hanejima on that board there. It looks like he has another movie in the works.”

Lena said pointing to the large poster on the side top of one of the large buildings. Nikki smiled as she pulled her phone out, her landlord was messaging her. He was awaiting their arrival and had the house furnished for them. The only thing they had to do was show up and sign some residency paperwork.

The cab driver pulled over on the side of the street frowning as he looked back at the two loud Americans. There was no way he was going to drive another second with those two hooligans in the back of his cab.

“This is as far as I go, now out.”

Nikki made a face and grabbed her things before paying the cab driver and exiting the cab. Once all their things were accounted for the duo watched him peel off into traffic.

“We’re finally hereeeeeee!” I’m so excited to go to all the anime stores I know Japan has!”

Nikki looked down at her phone and turned towards the direction of the house they were staying at. They weren’t too far, about a five-minute walk north, all she needed to do was talk to the landlord and settle in. Before they could go anywhere a large object that resembled a trashcan flew past them followed by a tall blonde.

“What the hell was that?”

Nikki smiled at her friends sheepishly before walking towards the house.

“Welcome to Ikebukuro, the city that never sleeps.”

Lena followed her friend looking around the city in awe of all the Japanese people and stores. Nikki, on the other hand, was too focused on finding her way to the house so she could eat and relax and figure out the quickest way to get to her office Monday morning.

The duo walked up to a two-story house, with an older man standing outside.

“Hi, are you Ichima Fugakku?”

The older man nodded looking over two foreigners. He looked over the shortest girl who had addressed him and made a face. He hoped they didn’t destroy his property.

“I’m Davidson Nikki, it’s nice to meet you.”

Nikki bowed and followed the elder inside listening to him drone on about making sure rent was paid on time and to keep his property clean. He gave her paper which she looked over quickly before signing. Nikki thanked the elder as he handed her the keys to the house and cheered loudly as soon as he exited through the front door.

“I can’t believe this entire house is all ours for the next 10 months and maybe even longer if my job becomes permanent,” Nikki said falling back on the couch. Lena grabbed her things and walked around the house looking for the bedrooms while Nikki looked through all her paperwork.

“It’s going to be dark in a few hours, how about we find food and then crash? The plane ride here was super uncomfortable and I’m feeling a bit jet-lagged.”

Lena ran back downstairs and nodded slipping on her shoes.

“Let’s go, there’s a sushi place down the street.”

Nikki grabbed her new keys and skipped out of the house looking down at her phone's navigation system. She made idle chat with Lena as they walked to the small Russian sushi restaurant. There was a large African American man standing outside of the shop handing out coupons as he advertised the restaurant.

“Come in, you two eat Russian sushi. It really good, you like.”

Nikki smiled and looked over at her friend who was grinning from ear to ear.

“Russian sushi in Japan, it doesn’t get much cooler than that.”

Lena and Nikki walked into the sushi restaurant, they both smiled as they took off their shoes and sat on the floor at a table.

“This is so freakin’ cool! I don’t even know what I want. I don’t really mess around with raw fish but hey, when I go to Japan.”

Nikki said looking through the menu, some of which she couldn’t really understand considering some of it was in Russian. The waiter walked over to the two females, they ordered their food and talked while trying to figure out their plans for the following day.

“So how about we go to the anime store down the street? It’s closing in a few but it’ll be open tomorrow.”

Nikki shrugged and looked towards the door that had opened. A blonde man and a shorter brown-haired man walked into the restaurant. She watched them take a seat at the sushi bar before turning back to Lena.

************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Shizuo looked back at the two foreigners in the restaurant, he could’ve sworn he saw them earlier that day but he wasn’t too sure. After being pissed off by one of Tom’s clients everything went red. He quickly looked away when the dark-skinned girl made eye contact with him. He’d rather not have them thinking he was a creep.

************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Once the girls finished their meal, they happily made their way home to get some rest. The next morning Nikki was up bright and early, she figured it was best to find out where her job was and how long it would take to walk there in the morning.

She was sure it would probably take her longer than normal on workdays but that didn’t bother her. As she was walking down she took in the entire city. Ikebukuro really was a beautiful place.

A sound she didn’t recognize came screeching down the street followed by police sirens. The next few seconds everything seemed to move in slow motion for her. It was the same person in the video she had seen on her phone.

A rider wearing all black, the only thing that wasn’t black was the yellow helmet. The motorcycle didn’t sound like other cycles, no it was like a combination of neighing and reving. As the mysterious person drove past her it felt like the pair made eye contact, even though she couldn’t see through the face shield on the helmet.

Ikebukuro, the city that never sleeps.


	2. The First Meeting

Nikki frowned as she pulled on her stockings followed by her skirt, she thought she had set her alarm earlier but she didn’t and now she was rushing to get ready for work. As soon as her shoes were on she raced downstairs and grabbed her lunch from the refrigerator before taking off out of the house. If she could make it past the main shopping district in the next few minutes she’d be just fine. First day of work and she was already in jeopardy of being late and losing her job. Wonderful.

**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Shizuo sighed as he looked up at the rising sun, he was still tired from waking up super early but work needed to be done and Tom needed him to get into someone’s apartment before they left. His eyes glided over some of the people, everything almost looked grey. The people, the city, there was never any color in Ikebukuro at least not to him. It was the same boring city he grew up in. His eyes immediately focused on a brightly colored blouse in the crowd that was moving quickly. 

His eyes followed the bright pink blouse and he made a face when he recognized the woman who was wearing it. It was the same foreigner from the other day at the sushi restaurant, he would’ve been able to spot her from miles away because she wasn’t from Ikebukuro, she wasn’t dull, grey, and lifeless like everyone else. She was special. 

****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Nikki smiled as she ran into the large building, she was still a bit early which was great. She headed straight to the elevator and pressed the top floor. Her boss's office was on the top floor and she needed to speak with him before trying to do any work. She ignored some of the looks she received from some of the workers as she walked out of the elevator. 

“Danielson?” 

Nikki turned around quickly when she heard her name and smiled. She recognized the deep chipper voice anywhere. 

“Sakamoto-san, it’s nice to see you again.” 

Sakamoto pulled Nikki into a tight hug before leading her down the long hallway, he was the one that instantly higher her while at her college’s job fair. He was impressed with her grades, and her resume and that was it. 

“I hope everyone is being polite, we don’t have a lot of foreigners around these parts but I’m sure you’re going to get along with everyone. You just have that type of personality, I mean look at the blouse you’re wearing. No one here would be brave enough to wear a color that bright here, that’s another thing I like about you. Your style. Anyways, all your paperwork is in my office and you’re going to be working with Akagi Ren, he’s going to be downstairs at your workstation. You’ll be on floor twelve but I’m sure you’re going to be running around once you get the hang of things.” 

Nikki followed her boss into his office and watched him shuffle through his things before pulling out a folder, he smiled and handed it to her. Nikki thanked her boss and bowed before turning to leave. 

“If anyone gives you any trouble at all don’t be afraid to come and get me, I’ll be sure to handle them.”

Nikki nodded and bowed again before taking her leave and heading to the twelfth floor as soon as the elevator doors opened Nikki noticed a male around her age holding a piece of paper with her name on it. She smiled and bowed to the male. 

“Wow, the boss wasn’t joking, that is a bright shirt. I guess you’re working with me for a bit, I’ll show you to your desk and then we have work to do.” 

****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Lena smiled as she skipped down the street looking for any anime stores, she looked up a few places but the bigger ones were way out of town and she wasn’t trying to get lost in Japan. Her eyes instantly widened when she got to the shopping district, one of the first stores that caught her eyes widened at the small anime store. 

Before she could make it inside she was stopped by a handsome male about her height, she couldn’t help but get lost in his dark mysterious eyes. 

“Woah, be careful foreigner.” 

Lena looked down to see a small child running past her, knowing her, she probably would’ve run over the kid and had to deal with its parent something she was way too awkward to deal with.

“Thanks and I have a name.” 

Lena walked around the handsome stranger and headed into the store as she looked back at him, she gave him a small smile before waving and heading down the manga aisle. Even though she couldn’t understand anything she wanted to own every copy of Sailor Moon they had on the shelf. She picked up the first few volumes and walked down a few more isles picking up things here and there. Most of her money would be gone but she didn’t care, anime was life to her. 

**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Nikki sighed as she sat at her desk, the day was almost over and she had the world's worst headache. No one paid attention to her if she asked Ren any questions he would give her a half answer before disappearing. 

“NIKKI!!” 

Nikki jumped up from her desk when she heard her boss. She turned around quickly and bowed, she had no idea what she did wrong but she was ready to face the consequences. 

“Good job today, Akagi told me how well you did today. I expected nothing less, keep up the good work and I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

Nikki bowed again and watched her boss walk away. Ren told him she did a great job, she thought looking over at her desk. Well, her day could’ve gone a hell of a lot worse. Nikki packed up her desk and headed out of the building, she didn’t even know the sun was setting until she stepped outside of the building. She was starving and almost a hundred percent sure Lena didn’t make dinner. 

As she was heading home a familiar stranger walked past her. She had no idea who he was but it was almost routine how they were always appearing around each other. The tall blonde stranger looked down at her and made a face. Nikki gave him a small smile as she bowed and walked around him. She took a few steps before stopping and turning around to look back at the tall blonde. 

“Um, sorry if my Japanese isn’t the greatest but do you know where I can get something quick to eat besides Russian Sushi. I’ve been there almost every day since I’ve moved here and as great as it is I need something new.”

Nikki watched the blonde nod quickly before pointing towards one of the many shopping districts. 

“There’s a few take-out places in that shopping district.” 

Nikki thanked the stranger and bowed before heading towards the shopping district. Her face was on fire not because she was embarrassed but from how soft and smooth the tall stranger’s voice was. Not only was he handsome but he sounded like a god. 

“Shake it off Nikki, stop with the wild fantasies. You’re probably never going to see that man ever again now that you’ve spoken to him. Just hurry up and find something to eat before it gets too late.”

Nikki sighed as she walked into the shopping district. The first place she spotted instantly excited her. Real Japanese ramen, there was no way she was saying no to ramen. Once she ordered she headed back into the busy city of Ikebukuro. A small smile made its way onto her face when she noticed the tall blonde leaning against the wall smoking. 

“Were you waiting for me?” 

Shizuo shrugged as he took the large bag from the short foreigner, he really didn’t know why he was so attracted to her or why he had the urge to be around her so much. Nikki took the bag back from the tall stranger before bowing. 

“Thank you but I don’t know you and I have to go. Thank you again for the directions and the ramen place.” 

Shizuo nodded as he watched the foreigner walk away, he watched her until her brightly colored blouse disappeared into the crowd. He had no idea what came over him but he wanted to know more about her. She was different, she was someone.

**********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Nikki frowned as she attempted to pay attention to the meeting she was in. She couldn’t get the tall blonde stranger out of her mind. It had been weeks since she’d seen him and he was haunting her every second of every day. The meeting was coming to a close. Thankfully, Nikki started to pack away her things quietly and stood up moving to the back of the room. Her boss dismissed everyone and she picked up the notes that were left on the table, it was her job to review everyone's notes and ideas and place them all in a template to send to her boss. 

“Hey Nikki, a few of us are going to lunch come with us.” 

Ren, took the papers out of Nikki’s hands and quickly placed them on her desk before grabbing her small spiked backpack. 

“I’m not giving you a choice, you're coming with us. Some of the others want to meet you and get to know you.”

Nikki smiled and followed her tall senior out of the office, about five of her coworkers were standing outside waiting for them. She made a face when she noticed the other female in the group frown at her. 

“You guys know Nikki, she’s working under me and I invited her so you can get to know her. She’s super smart, and almost does her job better than I do.” 

“Hey, it’s nice to officially meet you, I’m Haneda Seiji. I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen an African American person in Ikebukuro. So is America as crazy as they say it is?” 

“Um, I guess.” 

Nikki watched Haneda’s eyes widened with amazement. She chuckled at the bewilderment of her coworkers. The only person that didn’t seem amused by her was the other female in the group. 

“Hey Miki, stop being a bitch for once in your life and come welcome, Nikki. Now you’re not the only female on our floor so you should be happy.” 

Nikki looked over at Miki who ignored her and Akagi and continued walking, Nikki’s attention was pulled away from Miki to Haneda who was asking her a million questions. People like Miki were everywhere and she wasn’t going to let her sour mood ruin her time, nothing was going to ruin her new life in Japan.


	3. Heiwajima Shizuo?

Nikki sighed as she walked into her home, she was so happy that the week was over now she could relax and lounge around for the rest of the week. She made a face when she heard Lena’s voice followed by a male voice in the house. She walked into the living area and saw Lena eating and chatting with a dark-haired male. 

“Hey, how’s it going?” 

Lena smiled as she looked over at her tired friend, she didn’t even realize how late it was. 

“Hey Nikki, this is Izaya. I met him a while ago and again today so I invited him to the house. He’s super cool you should hang out with us.” 

Nikki introduced herself to Izaya before shaking her head, she was tired and just wanted to go to bed. 

“I’ll have to take a raincheck, it was nice meeting you Izaya. Lena, we’ll uh talk later. I need a bath and my bed.” 

“It was nice meeting you Nikki-chan.” 

Lena and Izaya watched Nikki disappear upstairs before going back to their conversation. Lena didn’t know what it was about the handsome stranger but she was drawn to him. He was so charismatic, something she wasn’t. 

“Well, I think I’ve been here long enough. Thanks for having me over Lee-chan. Let’s exchange numbers so we can hang out again.” 

“Sure, here.” 

Lena gave him her phone and vice versa as they swapped numbers as she walked him to the door. 

“Well, I’ll text you because I’m not good at making phone calls. I’m super awkward and I usually don’t know what to say or I just talk too much…” 

“I get it, texting only. I’ll see you around.” 

Lena waved and as soon as she closed the door she screamed and ran upstairs flinging the bathroom door open. Nikki made a face as she watched her friend bounce in the bathroom and sit down beside the bathtub she was lounging in. 

“I’m pretty sure I locked that door. So what’s up with the short guy downstairs? Did he buy you manga or something?” 

Lena shook her head as he thought about the dreamy stranger. 

“I don’t know what it is about him but he’s pretty amazing. Maybe it’s because he’s everything I’m not. Confident, charming, smooth, hot!” 

Nikki sighed as she let her head fall back against the tile. Here we go again, she thought. Her friend had a way of finding these guys who were terrible humans. Yeah, they looked good and were super charismatic but they were despicable. 

“Just don’t dive in too quickly with this one. You’re in a foreign place and things are different here. For all you know, charming and handsome could be a human trafficker.” 

Nikki made a face as she thought about the handsome stranger she had come into contact with a few times. What if he was scoping out his next victim and what if she was it? Her mind wandered over the thought a million times over she didn’t even hear Lena leave the bathroom. If she saw him again she would definitely stay clear of him. 

**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Nikki and Lena made themselves comfortable on a bench as they ate ice cream. Nikki was slightly dreading the flavor she got. For once in her life, she decided to try something new and she hated it. Lena on the other hand was too preoccupied with texting her new friend. Nikki’s eyes quickly met a familiar stranger. She got up and threw her ice cream away as she watched the tall blonde follow a shorter male. Was he dangerous?

She looked away quickly when he turned her way and mentally thanked the heavens when she saw Akagi heading in her direction. 

“Hey Akagi-san, over here.” 

Ren made a face as he looked back at his girlfriend who was preoccupied with something in her purse before making his way over to the short foreigner. 

“Hi, what are you doing here? You don’t strike me as a park kind of guy.” 

“You barely know me and you’re right, I was just walking around town with my girlfriend. What about yourself? You don’t look as bright as you usually do at work.” 

Nikki laughed as she looked down at her summer dress, he had a point. 

“Just checking out the sights with my friend and roommate.” 

Ren watched her point to the caucasian girl who was super interested in her phone. 

“Hm, so two American’s huh? You’re the prettier one.” 

Nikki made a face as she looked over at Akagi, in her 21 years of life she had never been told that she was prettier than any of her friends. She felt her face burn as she looked away from Akagi, unfortunately for her, she ended up making eye contact with her stranger who looked like he was waiting for someone. 

“Anyways I’ll see you at work. Later.” 

She gave him a small wave before walking back over to Lena, but before she could get there a few males stood in her way. All of them were wearing yellow. Were they part of a gang? Did she make eye contact with the wrong person? Not even a month in Japan and she was already gonna be killed off by a gang. Before any of them could say or do anything fear flashed in their eyes and they took off running. 

Shizuo frowned as she stood behind the foreigner that had begun to cloud his mind, he quickly turned and walked away before she noticed he was behind her and leaned against the tree beside Tom. 

“Back to creeping on the cute foreigner huh? Maybe you should just try to talk to her and see where it takes you.” 

“I did and I’m pretty sure I scared her, besides it’s better this way. If she doesn’t know me, she won’t get hurt.” 

Tom shook his head and she got up and headed over to the two foreigners, both of them looked up at him as he stood in front of the bench they were sitting on. 

“Hello, I noticed that the two of you aren’t from around here so I wanted to come over and say welcome to Ikebukuro. I’m Tanaka Tom, local debt collector.” 

Tom held his hand out for the girls and both of them exchanged looks with each other before standing up and bowing. 

“Hello, Tanaka-san it’s nice to meet, and thank you for welcoming us. We would love to stay and chat but I think it’s better if we head out.” 

“Wait, before you go can I introduce you to someone? He’s the strongest man I know and the best worker a boss could have. My associate back there trying to blend into the trees is Heiwajima Shizuo. He may look tough but he’s a good guy.” 

Nikki looked over at the blonde and gave him a small smile, Heiwajima Shizuo. She repeated his name in her head several times. It had a nice ring to it. 

“Well it’s nice to meet the both of you, we must be off.” 

Tom’s smile fell when he realized he didn’t get any of the girls' names, maybe he shouldn’t have started with telling them he was a debt collector. At least now they knew Shizuo’s name. 

“Was that weird or what?” 

Nikki and Lena laughed loudly as they headed back to the house, talking about their day and the type of people they ran into, living in Ikebukuro was turning into a fun adventure for both of them. 

**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

“Ok how about this one? I’m trying not to be as extra as I usually am but I still want to maintain some sort of originality with my outfits that I wear to work.” 

Lena shook her head as he looked over the outfit Nikki was fashioning, it was cute but too boring, she looked through a few of the outfits and tossed a dress at her to try on. 

“Do this one, it’s royal blue. The whole world knows you look amazing in royal blue, plus I’m sure it’ll turn your coworker's heads. The cute one from the park that called me ugly. Yeah, I heard him so don’t try to cover for him. It’s alright, I’ll let it slide only because I don’t care about what he has to say.” 

Nikki apologized to her friend before slipping on the dress. Lena was right it was perfect, she wasn’t sure about turning Akagi’s head but it would definitely stand out. 

“Thanks, I’ll wear this one. I hope this meeting doesn’t last as long as the first one I was in. But then again, I wasn’t part of the presentation. Also, Akagi has a girlfriend so I don’t care if I turn his head. I’m not a homewrecker.” 

Lena shrugged as she skipped out of the room and into hers. Izaya was supposed to be meeting her for lunch tomorrow and she was so excited she didn’t even know what she was going to wear. Clothes didn’t fit her as great as they fit, Nikki. She was chubby and Nikki wasn’t overly skinny, she had perfect boobs, a butt that wasn’t too large and she was short and cute. Nikki always told her there’s nothing wrong with being a little chubby, but to her everything was wrong with it. 

“Are you doubting yourself?” I can practically hear your mind from my bedroom. Listen, you’ve got thick thighs, a fat ass, and a small waist. Girls all over the world would kill for a body like yours. Just because you’re in the land of tiny females doesn’t mean they don’t want a body like yours. So stand tall and cute because you are.” 

Lena smiled as she watched her friend dance out of her room. Nikki was right, she was cute and she had to make sure Izaya saw it too. 

**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Nikki sighed as she stood beside Akagi while he talked about the new system they had been working on. Even though she was part of the team her job was literally, stand around and look pretty. Which she didn’t have a problem doing she just could’ve done it from a chair instead of standing awkwardly beside Akagi. As soon as the presentation was completed the duo bowed before leaving the meeting room. 

“That went well, and everyone seemed to like the way you look so that’s good too.” 

Ren looked down at the short girl beside him, she was looking forward and also looking very confused. He shook his head before heading to his desk. 

“Thanks, I guess, um are you doing anything after work?” 

Ren raised an eyebrow as he looked over at Nikki, she was looking away. A small smirk made its way onto his face as he moved over to her desk. 

“No why? Are you trying to ask me out on a date? If you are that’s a bit scandalous since I do have a girlfriend.” 

“No! Not as a date just as two coworkers hanging out after work. We’re both young and I’m still kind of new to the area so I’m just trying to figure out where everyone goes and hangs out.” 

Ren nodded as he moved back over to his desk. 

“Sure, I’ll pick the place but since you invited me you’re buying.”

Nikki chuckled and nodded before turning towards her computer, she didn’t notice but Ren had turned and looked over at her profile. In the short amount of time she had been there, he was enamored by her. She was different from any other girl he’d met and that was what he liked about her. No one else would be caught dead wearing a royal blue dress and none of the other females in the building could make it look that good, not even Miki, and Miki was considered a babe. No, Nikki had a different kind of beauty, her beauty was rare. Something that most people overlooked but he wasn’t an idiot and he wanted her. 

After work Nikki turned her computer off and grabbed her backpack before standing up, she looked over at Akagi who was still sitting at his desk, watching her. 

“Well, are you ready?” 

Ren nodded getting up, he returned Nikki’s smile and followed her out of the building. They made small talk as Ren took her to the Russian sushi place she was so used to going to. 

“How is it that you picked the one place I frequent?” 

“Oh, would you like to go somewhere else?” 

Nikki shook her head before opening the door, almost immediately she recognized Tom and Shizuo who were sitting at the sushi bar. She quickly looked away and followed Ren to one of the tables before sitting down. 

Ren made a face when he noticed Nikki tense up, did she not like this place, and was too nice to say something about? 

“Hey, what’s going on? Did you want to go somewhere else?” 

“No, it’s just there's a debt collector in here that introduced himself to me this past weekend. I didn’t think my student loans were going to follow me all the way from America.” 

Ren looked behind Nikki and chuckled when he recognized the two males. If they were trying to get money from her they would’ve done it a long time ago. Plus he was sure they handled different loans.” 

“You don’t have to worry about them, besides they only handle shady people. If you have student loans the government will be the ones coming after you. Besides Heiwajima Shizuo is the strongest man in Ikebukuro, I doubt he’s interested in roughing up a cute foreigner.” 

Nikki felt her face burn at Ren’s comment. How could he say that without a hundred percent confidence? She wasn’t that pretty, to herself she was pretty normal in America. Not pretty but not ugly, just average. Now that she was in Japan she felt less than normal because everyone looked at her like she was an alien. 

“Are you doubting your…” 

“Hey.” 

Both Nikki and Ren looked up to see Tom standing at the table, he had a small smile on his face as his eyes traveled over to Nikki. 

“Hi, again Tanaka-san.” 

Tom scoffed at Nikki’s honorifics, he was probably older than her but he honestly didn’t want to be called by his last name.

“Please call me Tom, Tanaka-san sounds too proper. The last time we talked I didn’t get your name.” 

“Is there something you need? If not I would like you to leave so I can enjoy the rest of my date.” 

Nikki gave Tom a small smile, as he nodded and walked away. She looked over at Akagi who was happily eating the sushi that was just placed on the table. 

“You sure are something Akagi-san.” 

Shizuo shook his head as he walked out of the restaurant, Tom should’ve known better than to go and talk to them. He didn’t care, as interesting as the foreigner looked, he just wanted to keep doing what he was doing before. Keep a low profile and not see that piece of shit that was Izaya. He had been on edge for a few days now and that only meant one thing. The flea was back in town.


	4. Thank You

Ren smiled as he watched Nikki move around the office, their boss had her running around trying to fix a bug in the new software that was due to be released within the month. Today she was probably sporting his favorite outfit which was a floral pencil skirt and a bright yellow blouse to match. Her waist was smaller than he thought, making her hips and butt look bigger. His eyes wandered to her breast which were also a healthy size, even covered in the blouse they were round and perfect. 

“Akagi-san, can you please help me, I think somewhere along the lines of programming the soft….” 

Ren stopped listening to her as she sat down at her desk, even though he was looking at her lips he couldn’t make out a single thing she was saying. He had never seen lips so kissable before.

“Hello! Are you listening to me?” 

Nikki shook her head and she started going through the software, something wasn’t connecting and she needed to make sure she figured it out before the end of the day. 

**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Nikki sighed as she turned her computer off, it was minutes to nine and she was the only one left in the office. The software had been fixed, and all diagnostics were forwarded to her boss, now she just needed to get home safely. She grabbed her things and left the office, thankfully for her even at 8:54 the streets were still busy. 

Light vibrations from her smartphone pulled her out of her thoughts as she made her way home. As she assumed it was Lena texting her to check up on her, she quickly messaged her and went to put her phone away but before she could put the phone in her pocket she ran into a solid object. Her phone fell to the ground and she looked up to see Shizuo. 

“I’m so sorry! I wasn’t paying attention. Please don’t tell your boss.” 

Shizuo made a face at the foreigner's reaction before bending down and picking up her phone. He handed it back to her and gave her a small smile before walking away. 

Nikki watched Shizuo walk into the crowd before continuing on her journey. Was she wrong to say what she said? What if he really did go and tell his boss that she ran into him again and then he started asking her for payments? Nikki groaned loudly as she walked down the alleyway to get to her house. She wasn’t too far from home but she couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. Little did she know there was a small group following her. 

Shizuo sighed as he followed the foreigner, he couldn’t shake his uneasy feeling so he went against his mind and decided to follow her instead. He smirked when he realized he made the right call as a few blockheads stopped the short girl in her tracks. 

“I have mace and I’m not afraid to use it, so stay the hell away from me!” 

Nikki quickly pulled her heels off. If she had to make a run for it she was going to do it. Back in middle and high school, she was a part of the track team so she was sure she could outrun the fools in front of her. 

“All we wanna do is just chill for a bit, baby. We don’t see a lot of fine foxy ladies like you in Ikebukuro, so we don’t know how to act when y'all come around.” 

“Well I’m not interested so move or prepare to be maced and hit with my shoe.” 

Shizuo chuckled as he watched from the shadows, he knew the males would instantly turn away as soon as they saw him but that didn’t mean they would leave her alone. Who’s to say they wouldn’t try and harass her again when he wasn’t there. He had to think of something so they wouldn’t mess with her again. 

The frown on Nikki’s face deepened as the taller male moved closer to her, she covered her mouth and nose with her sweater and sprayed him before taking off in the opposite direction. She stopped quickly when she saw Shizuo standing in front of her frowning at the men behind her. 

“It makes me sick to see scumbags like you lot messing with innocent people.” 

Nikki moved to the side as she watched Shizuo throw his cigarette onto the floor before stepping on it. The next few minutes she stood there in complete awe seeing the lanky male throw large objects at the males scaring all of them away. Heiwajima Shizuo was a superhuman, she thought, putting her shoes back on. Once he calmed down he turned to leave but looked surprised when he met her large brown eyes. 

“That was amazing. Also slightly terrifying but it was amazing. Did you just have a super adrenaline rush? No probably not, the situation wasn’t that serious, or was it? I’m rambling, I’m sorry and thank you so much Heiwajima-san. Do mind if I borrow you for a little while longer. I don’t live too far from here and I don’t want to talk the rest of the way alone.” 

Shizuo nodded following the foreigner who had thanked him again as they walked in silence. 

“Oh, I guess I should finally tell you my name since you kind of saved my life. I’m Nikki Da… Wait, Danielson Nikki. 

Shizuo nodded, taking her small hand, almost instantly a jolt of electricity ran through his body. He wasn’t sure what was happening but it felt great. As soon as the pair broke apart the electricity left his body and he instantly longed for her warm touch again. 

“Well this is my stop, thank you again Heiwajima-san. I hope you have a good night.” 

Nikki waved to the tall blonde before rushing into her house. As soon as she closed the door she sighed loudly before looking down at her hand. She could still feel Shizuo’s warm soft hand around hers. Nikki shook her head as she headed upstairs, she was tired and the bath was calling her name. 

Shizuo stood outside the house for a moment before leaving. He repeated her name over and over in his head as he headed home. He wasn’t sure why but something was telling him they would run into each other again and he was excited. 

**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

“Look I’ve told you this about a hundred times now. Not all Americans are thugs, just because they glamourize it on television doesn’t mean that it’s true Sho-san.” 

Nikki shook her head as one of her coworkers continued to grill her about things he’d seen in moved or on the news. She quickly looked up at Akagi with pleading eyes, as he made his way over to his desk. 

“Don’t you have work to do? I know Nikki does, so stop distracting her so she can get it done.” 

Nikki waited for the annoying male to leave before thanking her superior. Akagi nodded at her before watching her go back to work. He had begun to notice little things she did while she worked and he found them cute. When she was super focused her eyebrows would knit together and her tongue would peek out from between her perfect lips. He also noticed when she was nervous she had a bad habit of shaking her right leg. 

“Hey, did you hear what I said? I sent you the program. Boss said he wants them before the end of the day so can you look over to make sure everything is good please.” 

Ren made a face as she watched Nikki’s eyes grow in size, and her bottom lip push forward into a pout. He shook his head and sat down looking at the large file that was set over to him. It took him longer than he expected to look over the program Nikki wrote. It was impeccable, everything was perfect. No wonder their boss hired her on the spot. 

“It’s great, I’m going to send it to the bossman. I’ll let him know you’re leaving early since there’s nothing else for you to do.” 

Nikki made a face as she looked over at Akagi, was he sending her home early? 

“What do you…” 

“Go home, this was the only thing on the agenda and you somehow finished it before noon, so take the rest of the day off. Boss and I are going to run the program and fix any issues, but I doubt there’s going to be any issues because it looks perfect. Enjoy the rest of your day.” 

Nikki nodded, grabbing her things and heading out of the office, she sighed looking at her watch, it was barely three and she was out of the office. Maybe she would take a walk around town before heading home. Nikki slipped off her wedges and switched them with flat shoes she carried in her purse before wandering around Ikebukuro. 

Shizuo sighed as he leaned against the wall of a large apartment behind him, Tom had been inside for a while now and it was starting to make him anxious. He pulled the last cigarette he had in his back pocket and stuck it in his mouth. Before he could light it, his eyes focused on a baby blue dressed being fashioned by his favorite stranger. She was standing in the middle of a crowd of people looking up at the sky. He followed her gaze and made a face, there was nothing but fluffy looking clouds slowly moving through the. He looked back down at her and gave her a small wave when he realized she was looking his way. 

Nikki returned Shizuo’s wave with a small smile as she made her way to his side, stopped, and bowed when she was standing in front of him. 

“Good afternoon Heiwajima-san, you’re looking very bored.” 

Shizuo smirked at Nikki’s comment before nodding and lighting his cigarette. 

“I’m working so, of course, I’m bored. What were you looking at?” 

“The sky, sometimes I like to take a moment and just look up. Anyways, I'm off. I’ll see you around Heiwa…” 

Before she could finish her sentence a large male ran out of the apartment knocking her off balance, she put her hand out instinctively to break her fall but she didn’t make it to the ground. Instead, she felt Shizuo pick her up with ease and move her to the side before grabbing the large male that tried running past them. Nikki made a face as she watched Shizuo hold the larger male over his head. Tom pulled her out of her thoughts when she saw him walk out of the apartment and the large male pulled out his wallet handing it to Tom. 

So this was the kind of debt collector he was, she thought lightly nodding to herself. Shizuo put down the frightened man who took off running before looking down at Nikki who seemed to be off in through. It was then he noticed it, a small dimple on her right cheek. She only had one and he found it to be the cutest thing. He watched her pouty lips curve up into a smile before he met her dark brown eyes. 

“Heiwajima-san, this is the second time you’ve helped me and I thank you again. If you’ll excuse me I’ll be on my way. I hope you two have a good evening.” 

Nikki bowed and turned to walk away only to run into the apartment door that was flung open by one of its attendees. Her head pulsated as she took a few steps back, a bump would definitely show up on her forehead later. 

“Come on, it’s obvious you need us to walk you home kid.” 

Nikki looked to her side to see Tom leading her down the sidewalk. 

“Thanks but I’m alright, all I need is a little ice and some painkillers. Thanks again.” 

Before either of them could say anything Nikki walked away quickly as she scolded herself. Why did she have to be so clumsy and why was she so embarrassed? As soon as she got to the house she spotted Lena and Izaya standing outside on the front porch. As soon as Izaya looked over at her a large smile made its way on his face as he poked her tender forehead. 

“Ouch, can you not see that I’m hurt?!” 

She walked inside headed straight to the kitchen to grab ice and a plastic baggie before heading to her room and ignoring the calls from both Lena and Izaya. She fell back on her bed and sighed loudly placing the ice on her forehead. Akagi would have a field day with her bruised forehead tomorrow.


	5. Stalker

Lena smiled when she felt an arm wrap around her waist, her tired eyes opened and met dark brown ones. 

“Have you been awake long?” 

Izaya shook his head and turned to the dresser when he heard his phone vibrate, he honestly didn’t want to be with Lena any longer than he had to but so far everything was going a little too good. His ears picked up on Nikki’s lightfoots moving past the room, she had been his main target but she wasn’t as stupid as her idiot friend. 

“No, but it looks like I’m going to have to head out. Duty calls and when duty calls it pays the bills.”

Lena watched Izaya get out of bed and get dressed before placing a light kiss on her lips. 

“I’ll chat with you later.” 

Izaya opened the door to a frightened Nikki who obviously didn’t know he spent the night, he waved to her before heading downstairs. Before leaving the house he looked back to see Nikki making her way downstairs. 

“Morning, I’ll see you around.” 

Nikki gave Izaya a small smile before closing the door behind him and heading back upstairs to her room to get dressed. She was meeting Akagi for lunch, and she wasn’t sure what to wear. It was hot so she knew she was going to wear something light. Perhaps a nice summer dress would do. She smiled as she thought of the perfect outfit, she ran into her bathroom and took a quick shower before skipping to her closet. She threw on a light pink cropped top and a pair of high-waisted shorts before shaking out her curly hair. 

Nothing better than natural curls, she thought, grabbing her tennis shoes and leaving her room. Once downstairs she slipped on her shoes and grabbed her backpack and walked out the door only to walk into Akagi.

“Woah, Akagi-san, I didn’t know you were going to meet me at my house and how did you know where I lived?”   
“I have your file, so I thought it would be better to just walk with you. Sorry I didn’t mean to be a creep.” 

Nikki gave him a small smile and shrugged, she preferred the duo walk together, secretly it made her happier. She linked her arm with his and they took off down the street. Ren’s face was the color of Nikki’s top as he walked and made small talk with her. He led her into a small barbeque restaurant and took a seat beside the large glass window. 

“Oh man, I can’t wait. I’ve been craving bbq since I left America. Of course, it’s not going to be the same but barbeque sauce is great in any country.” 

A small smile crept onto Ren’s face as he listened to Nikki talk about her home, it was obvious that she missed home by how much she talked about it. Her desk now fashioned a family photo and a little jar of sand from the Florida beach. 

“Tell me about your family. You always mention Florida but nothing about your family.” 

Nikki’s smile widened as she pulled her phone out of her pocket, she happily showed Ren a Christmas photo of her family. That year was special for her because it was the last time that her entire family was together. 

“I already know who your parents are, you look like your mom.” 

Nikki watched Ren point to her mother before nodding. She did look like her mother and she was happy she did. Her mother was an amazing woman and she could only hope to be half the woman she was. 

“She’s an amazing lady, you’d love her. Everyone loves her, she’s smart, sweet and the most down-to-earth person you’ll ever meet and I’m not saying that just because she’s my mother. When I was growing up she would always take in people who were struggling or give to people who didn’t have much. We didn’t have much but we were always comfortable. She’s an angel in human form. Of course, the tall big-belly man beside her is my dad. He’s a giant teddy bear. When he’s with the family is very talkative and comedic he’s great too. He’s the reason why I’m a giant IT nerd. Whenever I had a problem or if I couldn’t figure something out, he would always tell me, ‘google is your best friend’. The white-haired woman, that's my grandmother, on my mom’s side. She’s mean but full of love. Old fashion tough love, you’d like her a lot because she had a wicked accent and she’s always backhanding someone. I could keep going and tell you about everyone in the picture but I feel like you would get tired of me.” 

“I’d never get tired of listening to you speak.”

Nikki looked up at Akagi quickly who was focused on something outside the window. Did he really mean what he just told her?

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say that out loud. It looks like the waitress is ready, do you know what you want?” 

Nikki nodded as she felt her heartbeat speed up, did Akagi like her? Didn’t he have a girlfriend already? She ordered her meal before looking down at her phone. She glanced up at Akagi to see him looking down at his hand on the table. His cheeks were pink from embarrassment making him look like a schoolboy. 

“So how’s your girlfriend?” 

“We broke up. She didn’t want me to talk to you so I told her to leave and make sure she took anything that belonged to her in my house because she was no longer welcome. She wasn’t happy but I don’t care. You can’t judge someone you’ve never met and you’re amazing.” 

Nikki felt her face burn from Akagi’s comment, she was flattered but at the same time, she felt bad for being the reason he broke up with his girlfriend. 

Ren felt his face burn when he looked down at the dark-skinned beauty in front of him, his eye immediately dropped to the top of her cleavage. She had a killer body. He quickly looked back up meeting her large brown eyes. 

“Akagi-san I’m so…” 

“Don’t we are going to break up with or out without you, so it’s not your fault, but enough about me and my ex, what about you and the tall blonde that’s been hanging around the office until you leave?” 

Nikki made a face as she thought about Shizuo, she hadn’t seen him for a few weeks now, what was Akagi talking about? 

“Oh did you not know? He waits for you to leave before going about his business. He looks a bit like a stalker.”

Nikki smiled and shook her head, now she would be looking around for Shizuo when she left work. Maybe he was sticking around to make sure she didn’t get jumped. 

“Do you know him? I remember seeing him at the park too.” 

“Yes I do, kind of. So far he’s not bad, just my own personal savior. He scared off a bunch of goons who were trying to mess with me, maybe he’s just making sure no one tries to hurt me. Or he’s attempting to gain my trust and kidnap me and sell me on the black market. Who knows?” 

Ren made a face when he thought about the tall blonde, they were about the same height but there was no way he would try to upset Heiwajima Shizuo. Everyone in Ikebukuro knew who he was and Ren was way too good-looking to have his face rearranged by Shizuo. 

“Well stay away from him, trouble tends to follow him around and that’s the last thing I would want for you.” 

“Oh, you sound like a dad. If you want I’ll stay away but if we run into each other I have to say hello. I have manners.” 

Ren gave Nikki a small smile then quickly dropped the subject when he noticed the male they were just talking about leaning against the wall out on the opposite side of the road. He wasn’t focused on anything, and it actually looked like he was waiting for something or someone. What was his endgame?

“Hey, Akagi-san did…” 

“Ren, you don’t have to be so formal all the time.” 

Nikki chuckled loudly as she thought about calling the male by his first name. Back in America, it’s normal to call people by their first name but Japan was a different story. 

“Ok Ren, sounds weird since I’ve gotten used to your last name. Wait a second is this how you feel? Well, you’ve always called me by my first name so probably not. Anyways like I was saying before you rudely interrupted me….” 

“Do you want to go somewhere else?” 

Nikki made a face, they just ordered why would she want to go anywhere else? 

“We just ordered, and I thought this was one of your favorite places to eat. Are you telling me that you don’t like this place anymore or does it bring back old girlfriend trauma?” 

“Don’t worry about it after thinking I wasn’t sure if you’d like this place but it’s cool. I know you like sweets, there's a good sweets shop you’d like. We can go there next if you’re not too full.” 

Ren shook his head when he saw Nikki’s large eyes widen. 

“I’m never full when it comes to sweets Aka… Ren. I guess that means you know about my secret stash of candy at work. 

“Yeah, the whole floor knows about the secret stash, because you’re not good at keeping it a secret. Do you already know how many times I’ve refilled it after you left?” ‘

“Why are you so nice to me and don’t say it’s because you think I’m pretty. Are you just that good of a person or is it because of something else?” 

Ren mentally thanked the waitress who walked over to the table, there was no way he was prepared to answer that question, he was afraid he might say something he would regret. It was obvious he was attracted to her but for now, he would deny any feelings he had. 

Shizuo sighed as she watched Nikki and her tall blonde friend walk out of a restaurant. He had never seen anyone look cute and sexy all at the same time until he met her. The blonde looked in his direction and frowned before putting his attention on the short girl. What the hell was that, he thought, putting out his cigarette. 

Nikki sighed as she made her way home, Ren walked her part of the way but she insisted on walking the rest of the way. She swung her bag lightly as she hummed to herself. As she was crossing the street the sound of a motorcycle prompted her to cross quicker. Wherever the motorcycle was coming from it sounded like it was moving quickly. As soon as she made it to the other side of the street the black motorcycle raced past her. 

The rider turned towards her and once again, it was almost like time slowed down, she watched the rider pass by her before continuing her walk. Every time they crossed paths it almost felt like the rider was looking directly at her the entire time. Who was the rider? A small smile made its way on her face when she noticed Shizuo in the crowd. She quickly walked over to him, waved when he looked down at her. 

“Hello, Heiwajima-san. Are you busy? If not do you mind walking me home?” 

Nikki smiled when Shizuo nodded, she knew she told Ren that she would stay away from him but there was something about him that kept drawing her in. Plus she wanted to question him about waiting around her office. If Ren noticed then others probably noticed as well. 

“So how are you doing? I haven’t seen you for a few weeks.” 

“I’m fine but somethings not right. Something stinks.”

Nikki sniffed the air and shrugged, nothing smelled any different than before, just Ikebukuro’s city air. 

“I don’t know what that means but um, there's a reason I asked you to walk me home. I hear you’ve been hanging around my office at work.” 

Shizuo put out his cigarette and looked away from the short girl, how did she find out that he was at the office? Someone must’ve told her because he did one hell of a great job staying hidden. 

“I have to walk by the office to get home so of course, I’d hang around.” 

“Well, most people on their way home don’t hang around businesses and wait for one person to leave unless they’re stalking them. So Heiwajima-san, are you stalking me?” 

Shizuo wasn’t sure what to say, he didn’t want to say no but in the back of his mind, he was kind of stalking her. Not in a bad way, of course, he was just trying to make sure she made it home alright. He had heard a group of guys talking about her and as soon as they saw him behind her they left her alone. If they were trying to harass her he was sure there were others chomping at the bits to get to her. 

“I’ll take your hesitation as a yes, and If you want to walk with me it’s alright to walk up to me and ask. People at work have noticed you coming around so I’d hate for you to get in trouble for loitering or stalking. So now that’s cleared up…oof.” 

Nikki stopped talking when she ran into Shizuo’s arm, she looked up at his and followed his gaze across the street. She made a face when she locked eyes with Izaya. 

“It looks like he wants something.” 

Before Nikki could cross the road Shizuo pushed her behind him. Did they know each other she thought looking between the two males? 

“If you know him, stay away from that backstabbing little flea. He’s nothing but trouble.” 

“Hm, that’s funny. Someone told me the same thing about you.” 

Shizuo made a face as he watched Izaya slowly make his way other to the pair. Whoever told her to stay away from him was right. People got hurt when they got close to him and he would hate himself more than he already did if she got hurt. 

“They were right to tell you to stay away from me. I’ll walk you home but this is the last time I’ll do it.”

Nikki made a face as Shizuo grabbed her arm and pulled her down the street, the rest of the walk was filled with an awkward silence and as soon as her home was in sight Shizuo let go of her and stopped walking. 

“Stay away from me if you know what’s good for you.” 

With that Nikki watched Shizuo turn and walk away, she watched him disappear before heading into the house. It was quiet meaning Lena was gone. She headed to her room and quickly changed into her loungewear getting comfortable in bed. Nikki sighed as she went through Ikebukuro’s current events. The Headless Rider was at the top of every list. 

Who was this headless rider and why was this person such a hit in Ikebukuro, Nikki thought as she grabbed her laptop. There was only way to figure out who the Headless Rider was. Search Engines. Her search wasn’t long seeing as this headless rider was mentioned in little articles here and there. Nikki sighed as she typed Shizuo’s name in the search box, much to her surprise there were a few articles on him as well. Most of them were about his destructive rage issues but there was one that stood out. Was this the reason he wanted her to stay away from him? 

The article featured a teenage Shizuo who had fought an entire street gang but also injured a few bystanders. Two of them were released within a few days but one was in critical condition from blunt force trauma and several broken bones. Nikki closed her laptop quickly and put it away before laying back on her bed. Shizuo didn’t hurt them on purpose, but at the same time she knew why both Ren and Shizuo wanted her to stay away. She could possibly get caught in the middle of one of his rages. Shizuo Heiwajima and The Headless Rider, two of Ikeburuko’s mysteries.


	6. The Headless Rider

Nikki frowned as she sat in the office cafeteria, the day had started out horribly when she woke up late, someone pushed her on her way to work and made her drop her lunch. Work was busy because one of the devices that were released was hacked earlier this morning, everything was just a huge mess. She gave her coworker a small smile as he walked up to her. 

“Hey, don’t buy anything, I heard Akagi-san just bought lunch for the whole floor. Rumor has it, he did it for one of the workers here. I think he has a thing for Miki.” 

Nikki raised an eyebrow when she thought of the pretty female. Honestly, who would have a thing for her, she was hot and straightforward. She tells you what she wants and how she wants it and doesn’t take no for an answer. 

“Well, that’s good for him, anyway since he’s buying for everyone I might as well get back to work until the food gets here. Thanks for the tip Sakimoto-san.” 

“No need to be so polite all the time please Haru is fine.”

Nikki smiled and nodded as she headed back to her desk, her smiled widened when she noticed a glass candy-filled jar with a bright pink bow around it. There was no name on the jar but she was sure she knew who it was from. She looked over at Ren’s empty desk, he had been running around the building all day but somehow he still made time to put this on her desk when she got up. 

“FOOD’S HERE!” 

Nikki sat down at her desk as everyone got up and raced to the cafeteria, there was no way she would try to get in the middle of all that. Free food was just as popular here as it was in America. As she moved her jar to the side of her desk, a bowl of curry and rice was placed in front of her. She looked up to see Ren heading to his desk. 

“I remembered how much you enjoyed the curry from that restaurant we went to so I ordered something different for you.” 

“Thank you for the food and for the jar of candy.” 

Ren nodded as he started working, he didn’t have time today to relax and converse with everyone, today was ridiculously busy and he had things to do. He glanced over at Nikki who was happily eating. It was the first time for the day that he’d seen her smile, and it felt pretty great. 

“Hey look. Heiwajima Shizuo is fighting a group of people.” 

Nikki grabbed her bowl and quickly walked over to the window, just like her coworker said Shizuo was fighting a large group of males and obviously winning. Nikki walked over to her desk and placed her curry bowl down before heading downstairs. She wasn’t sure what came over her but she needed to stop him. Before she could get into the elevator she felt someone grab her arm. 

“Don’t do it. It’s not your problem and he can handle himself. At this point, if you go down there you’re only going to put a target on your back or worst get hurt because of him.” 

He was right but going downstairs to Shizuo felt like the right thing to do. She sighed and nodded before turning around. When her eyes met Ren’s he gave her a small smile before waving her back to the office. 

“You’re a good person, but please try to stay away from him. I would hate for something bad to happen to you.” 

“He told me the same thing, I guess I should stop being stubborn and just do as I’m told.”

Nikki felt Ren put his arms around her shoulder as he led her back to her desk. 

“Keep being you, just be cautious. You’re not in Florida anymore, this is Ikebukuro anything can happen.” 

Anything can happen, famous last words. The rest of the day passed by and much like the start, it was just as busy. Nikki sighed as she turned her computer off and changed into her flats. It was minutes to nine and she just wanted to go home and go to bed. Ren was still working and knowing him he would probably be at the office for a few more hours. 

“Hey Ren, I’m heading home. Do you need anything else from me?” 

Ren shook his head not looking up from his computer. Nikki waved to him before leaving the office. She looked around expecting to see Shizuo but he wasn’t around. She kept her head down as she headed home. 

“Look it’s the headless rider!” 

Nikki’s gaze followed the voices behind her and just like they had stated a motorcyclist was parking the bike, it looked like he, no she was looking for someone. She quickly moved through the crowd and stopped when she got to Nikki. 

Celty pulled out her phone taking a look at the photo on her phone, she nodded, handing the small box on her side to the short foreigner. She had no idea why Izaya had asked her to hunt down the girl or what was in the box but he paid well. 

“What is this?” 

Nikki watched the motorcyclist type something on her phone before showing it to her, she frowned when she read Izaya’s name. 

“Thank you for delivering this but I don’t know what it is and I don’t want it. I’m not a big fan of Izaya so I won’t be taking any gifts from him. I’m sorry.” 

Nikki gave the motorcyclist back the package before bowing and heading home. She was stopped when the motorcyclist stood in front of her typing quickly. 

“Please take it, I’m supposed to hang around for you to open it because he needs a response.” 

Nikki made a face and took the box before pointing in the direction of her home. 

“I’ll open it but not here, I really need to get home.” 

Celty nodded as she grabbed the foreigner and pulled her over to her motorcycle. 

“No, no. I’ll walk. I don't…” 

Celty gave Nikki a helmet before getting on her motorcycle. Nikki made a face as she looked over the sleek black motorcycle. Her Ex had one and used to always call her a coward for never wanting to ride it. She placed the helmet on her head and swung her leg over the motorcycle.

“I live at 3K House at Toshima-Ku.” 

Celty nodded as she took off much to Nikki’s dissatisfaction, if she could laugh she would from Nikki’s English profanities. Was this the girl Shizuo had mentioned a few days ago, it had to be her. He had described her down to her single dimple on her left cheek. She was prettier in person but she thought she would be taller. When they arrived at the house, Celty watched Nikki quickly hop off her motorcycle. 

Nikki sighed handing the motorcyclist her helmet as she thanked her. She waved her over to the large house and unlocked the door. It didn’t look like Lena was home but that was normal now, she spent all her time with Izaya now. 

“Come in, do you want water or juice? I think I have soda too.” 

Nikki watched the motorcyclist shake her head before looking down at the package, she put the package on the counter before taking her shoes off and sighing. If only she had a bottle of wine. She opened the package and made a face when she saw a key and a note. 

*****“Lena is staying at this address, with me. Feel free to come by whenever. A little birdy told me you’re friends with Heiwajima Shizuo, if you’re interested I have a little information about him. Let me know when you’re available so we can talk. (XXX)-XXX-3294”*****

No way Lena left without telling her. She put the key down before racing upstairs to Lena’s room, she opened the door and was instantly pissed. How could she just get up and move in with a complete stranger? That idiot. There was no way she was taking that key, if something bad happened to Lena then too damn bad. Nikki headed back downstairs and placed the key back in the box, she tore the note up before taping the box back up and handing it to the motorcyclist. 

“Thanks, but once again, no thanks. Tell Izaya to kiss my ass.”

“I know it’s none of my business but everything will be alright. Izaya is a pain in the ass but he’s alright.” 

Nikki nodded giving the motorcyclist a small smile. A tip, she had to give her a tip for hunting her down to deliver something

“If you don’t mind me asking but what is your name? 

Nikki grabbed her backpack and pulled out all the cash she had in her wallet out before turning towards the motorcyclist who was typing on her phone. Slight confusion flashed on her face as she thought about her nickname. The headless rider, was she really headless? Was that the reason why she couldn’t speak or was there something else ailing her? 

“Call me Celty.” 

“Celty, that’s a nice name. I’m Nikki.” 

“I know I’ve heard about you. Wait, I probably shouldn’t have told you that.” 

What did she mean she’s heard about me, Nikki thought. Perhaps Izaya mentioned her, because of the delivery. 

“Did Izaya say something about me because I’m sure it’s not true? I don’t know anything about him, only that he’s screwing my so-called best friend and he’s a weirdo.” 

“No it wasn’t him but it wasn’t anything bad. From what I’ve heard you’re pretty great. Anyways I have another delivery to make and it’s getting late. It was nice to meet you Nikki, have a good night.” 

Nikki waved as Celty walked out of the house, someone she knew mentioned her. She didn’t really know a lot of people and who would talk to the headless rider about a nobody foreigner. 

“Looks like I have a new stalker.” 

**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

“Hey, Ren what do you know about the headless rider? Is she really headless or is that just what everyone says to keep the mystery going?”

Ren made a face as he thought about the headless rider. No one knew anything about the mysterious rider only that rumor has it she or he didn’t have a head. He never believed things like that but there was something about the motorcyclist that made his skin crawl. 

“I don’t know, no one really knows anything. Just stay away from the headless rider. It’s like you have a knack for searching for trouble.” 

“I don’t like looking for trouble. I'm just naturally curious and I’m also very nosey. 

Ren shook his head as he focused on his work. 

“Look, as far as I know, the headless rider is a delivery boy. Just please be careful.” 

Just be careful, this is Ikebukuro I should just wrap myself in a bubble and stay home.


	7. You're Pretty Cool

Shizuo sighed as he watched Nikki walk into her house, even though he told her to stay away he couldn’t stop himself from making sure she made it home safely. He stared at the house for a few moments and waited for what he assumed was her bedroom light to turn on. As soon as the light turned on he nodded before turning to walk away. She was good which meant he didn’t need to hang around besides he had to get back to Tom. 

  
  


“Heiwajima-san!” 

  
  


Shizuo turned towards the voice and gave a small wave to Nikki who was now leaning out of her window. He should’ve left as soon as she got home but of course, the world doesn’t work like that. 

  
  


“Since you came all this way do you want a drink?” 

  
  


“Sure.” 

  
  


Nikki smiled as she closed her window and raced downstairs unlocking the door for Shizuo. He followed her into the kitchen before making himself comfortable at the small table. He watched Nikki move around the kitchen grabbing two glasses, filling both of them with what he figured was lemonade. His eyes wandered around the kitchen, it was spotless except for the half-eaten cake that was sitting on top of the cake holder.

  
  


“I hope you weren’t waiting around too long since I left later than usual.”

  
  


“No, I was actually passing by with Tom when I saw you. I thought I’d make sure you made it home in one piece since it’s late. So, uh how are you?

  
  


Nikki smiled as she handed Shizuo the glass, she moved around the kitchen and grabbed her leftovers from the night before. 

  
  


“I’m alright as you can see. Trying to keep my head down and stay out of trouble.” 

  
  


“Good you don’t need to get into any trouble here, especially with the shitty flea running around.”

  
  


Shizuo easily shattered the glass in his hand thinking about Izaya, words couldn’t describe how much he hated the little idiot and he wished more than anything to just erase him from the face of the earth. Shizuo looked up quickly when he felt something soft touch his hand. He didn’t even realize he was bleeding from shattering the cup. 

  
  


“You know you should be careful too. You may be super strong but you’re not indestructible and this right here proves it.” 

  
  


Shizuo watched Nikki take every piece of glass out of his hand before cleaning his cut, to him it almost looked like she had done this before. Once she finished cleaning the cut he watched her disappear upstairs for a moment before coming back downstairs with a first aid kit. 

  
  


“Sorry about your glass, it was a very nice cup.”

  
  


“It’s alright. Well, you’re all bandaged up. I won’t hold you up anymore since you did say you were with Tom-san so I’m guessing you were working.”

  
  


Nikki watched Shizuo stand up looking over his bandaged hand, a small smile crept onto his face as he looked at his hand. She stood up packing up the first-aid kit. 

  
  


“Thank you, and you’re right. I should get back to Tom.” 

  
  


“You’re welcome. Um, I know you said to stay away but are you busy this weekend?” 

  
  


What the hell are you thinking, Nikki thought as she mentally scolded herself. What was she thinking asking him if he was busy, of course, he was busy. 

  
  


“No, I’m not, I’ve got work but that’s about it.” 

  
  


“Well if you’re working then don....” 

  
  


“Tom and I walk around Ikebukuro a lot if you don’t mind making a few stops here and there we could show you around.”

  
  


For a second Shizuo thought Nikki’s eyes were going to pop out of her head, her smile grew and he watched a single dimple sink into her left cheek. He had never seen someone with one dimple as deep as hers and it gave her a unique cuteness. 

  
  


“I’d love to, uh, let me give you my phone number so I know where to meet you guys.”

  
  


Nikki quickly grabbed her phone and exchanged phones with Shizuo, she laughed lightly when she saw his outdated flip phone. She quickly put her number in before giving the phone back to its owner. 

  
  


“Cool, I’ll see you this weekend, then Heiwajima-san.” 

  
  


“Shizuo, please just Shizuo.”

  
  


Nikki nodded as she followed Shizuo to the front door, he turned to her like he wanted to say something but closed his mouth and shook his head lightly. 

  
  


“See you around.” 

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Nikki went through her closet for what felt like the 30th time. Nothing was right, and Shizuo and Tom would be at the house in less than an hour. She had showered, put her hair in a messy bun of curls and now she was trying to figure out what to wear. She would probably be walking so she didn’t want to be too fancy but she didn’t want to look like a bum either. 

  
  


Where was Lena when she needed her? Oh yeah, she was shacking up with a psycho for all she knew. Nikki grabbed a pair of shorts and a tank, she was tired of trying to find something cute she was going casual as hell, after all this wasn’t a date. As soon as she pulled her tennis shoes on there was a knock on the door. 

  
  


“COMING!” 

  
  


Shizuo ran his fingers through his hair trying to rake out any knots. He wasn’t sure why but his hands had been clammy all morning and now they were just unnaturally wet. Why was he nervous, it wasn’t like this was a date.

  
  


“Would you calm down, I thought you said this wasn’t a date.” 

  
  


“It’s not, we’re just going to give her a tour of Ikebukuro…” 

  
  


Shizuo stopped talking when the front door opened. He looked over Nikki’s short stance and looked away quickly when he felt his face heat up. No matter what she wore she was always cute.

  
  


“Hey, you guys can come inside, I’m almost ready I promise, I just need to change my shoes because I just realized these are not comfortable.” 

  
  


Nikki let the two males in the house as she sprinted back into her room, she quickly pulled the uncomfortable sneakers off and slid on a different pair before spraying herself with body spray. Once she was satisfied she headed back downstairs. 

  
  


“Sorry about that, I should probably just throw those shoes out. I’m ready now.” 

  
  


“Well then let’s get going because we have a lot to do today. You actually might be able to help out Nikki. You’re cute and foreign, some of these fools may pay up when they see you.” 

  
  


Did Tom just say I was cute, Nikki thought as she followed the males out of the house? 

  
  


“I don’t know but I’ll try to be intimidating like Shizuo-san. It probably won’t work though. I’m too short to be intimidating.” 

  
  


Tom laughed at Nikki’s comment before shaking his head. She was right, she wasn’t intimidating but the male beside her instantly made her one of the most terrifying females in Ikebukuro. He wondered how long it would take for the pair to get together, knowing Shizuo, he would try to push her away but Nikki didn't seem like the type to just give up. She would fight for him. 

  
  


“You’re right but we don’t need you intimidating so you’re good. Anyways since we don’t really know much about you why don’t you tell us how you got here and why you’re here?”

  
  


“I’m here because I was given the job offer of an American otaku’s dream. I met my boss at a job fair, and he was impressed by my resume. I’m sure he did a bunch of research on me before making his big decision but that’s the real reason I’m here. No way I would’ve been able to pay for a trip to Japan on the minimum wage I was making before. Before you ask I work for a programming company as Shizuo-san may know since he has made a habit of hanging around my office until I leave.” 

  
  


Shizuo made a face at Nikki who was smiling up at him. Once again he found himself looking away quickly to hide his burning face. 

  
  


“Are you blushing? Is that why you looked away just now? It’s alright I won’t tell anyone the great Heiwajima Shizuo has a sweet bashful side.” 

  
  


“Shut up.”

  
  


Shizuo felt his face burn, even more, when he heard Nikki’s melodic laughter, he shook his head trying to get a hold of himself. There was no way he would allow himself to fall for her. Everyone he got close to gets hurt and he wasn’t going to let her get hurt.

  
  


“Hey I know the ladies aren’t too happy when they’re asked this question but how old are you? You don’t look like you’re older than us but I don’t know I could be wrong.” 

  
  


“Honestly I don’t know why people are offended by that question but let’s see if you can guess, how old do you think I am? Or I guess I should ask how old do I look?”

  
  


Nikki sped up and stopped the two males before turning around and facing them. She watched them look over her for a minute before both nodding. 

  
  


“I maybe 24. Don’t take this the wrong way. Your face is young you could probably pass for a high school senior but without looking at your face you definitely look more um womanly. So 23 is my final answer.” 

Nikki nodded at Tom before looking over at Shizuo who raised his hands up and shrugged. 

  
  


“I have no idea, seems like a trick question to me. You’re definitely not older than Tom and me, you were job hunting back in America which probably means you finished University or are close to finishing. I don’t know when do kids in America go to University? Maybe 21, or 22.” 

  
  


“Look at you mister deductive reasoning, and Shizuo-san almost right, I turn 22 in a few months, and I started college in high school. It’s called dual enrollment, so I’ve been taking college courses since I was 16. I just graduated with my AS in Computer Programming and Help Desk Management, and I Minored in Photography. I would have continued my studies but life happened.” 

  
  


Nikki gave Shizuo a small smile, as she went to turn around she felt some shove her, knocking her off balance. She looked up quickly to see a small group of thugs, they were all fashioning a yellow scarf. This must be part of those color gangs she had been hearing about at work, she thought.

  
  


“Yo, watch where you… Damn you’re a fine little hottie. How about we show you around?”

  
  


“No thank you, I’m not interested.” 

  
  


Tom raised an eyebrow as he watched Shizuo walk over to the nearest vending machine and toss it at the thug that was making his way towards Nikki. Tom sighed and shook his head as he walked over to the short girl and moved her away from Shizuo before she became collateral damage.

  
  


“Wow, Shizuo is terrifying but he’s absolutely amazing.” 

  
  


“You’re a weird girl. I don’t know anyone that would say Shizuo is amazing as he pummels people but here you are. Anyways let’s go Shizuo will catch up to us once he’s finished.” 

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


“What do you mean I can’t go anywhere, I’ve been locked up for weeks. You know what I’m going to call Nikki and see if she wants to hang out since you won’t let me leave.” 

  
  


Izaya rolled his eyes as he looked back at his computer, he slightly regretted taking the annoying girl from her friend because she was working his last nerve. Maybe he’d have her kidnapped and sold. No, Nikki would never trust him if that was the case, he needed to find some way to gain her trust and it just seemed to get harder and harder now more than ever since it looked like she was making friends with Shizuo. 

  
  


Heiwajima Shizuo, why him? Out of all the people in Ikebukuro, why did she have to meet Shizuo? He pulled up her profile and sighed looking over all of her information. Good grade, useless jobs, tons of volunteering, no arrest records, nothing. She was clean. He lightly shook his head as he looked over her resume photo, she was working for the new programming company. 

  
  


“I wonder.” 

* * *

  
  


“So what do you like to do for fun?”

  
  


Nikki shrugged as she thought about how boring she really was, she honestly didn’t do much besides work and surf the web. 

  
  


“Not much, I spend a lot of time on the computer or I read. I bake a lot. I’m not that exciting, I’m sorry.” 

  
  


Tom nodded as he looked up at the apartment complex beside the couple. This was their first stop and he was slightly worried about Nikki. What if the male got combative and tried to harm her? 

  
  


“Hey, stay out here. If Shizuo comes by while I’m up there let him know I’m on the seventh-floor room 745.” 

  
  


Nikki nodded as she watched Tom head into the apartment complex. She smiled to herself as she looked around the busy city she now called home. She never pictured herself living in the city or Japan but she enjoyed it. Yes, there seemed to be more creeps but creeps were everywhere no matter when you went.

  
  


“Is Tom in there?” 

  
  


Nikki turned around quickly when she heard Shizuo behind her, she nodded watching him sigh before pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. 

  
  


“He’s on floor seven, room 745.”

  
  


She watched him look up at the building before walking to the opening of the alleyway beside the building. The next few events that transpired had seemed so routine for Shizuo and Tom that Nikki just had to laugh. The male they were trying to take the loan from obviously tried getting away from Tom through his window only to make it to the floor and find Shizuo. She wondered how many times they had gone through this before they just knew what was going to happen. Once they collected their debt the two males walked back over to Nikki and nodded. 

“Well, that was fun to watch. You guys are pretty cool.” 

  
  


Shizuo watched Nikki carefully for a moment. She was so weird, what normal person would think pummeling a man until he paid a debt was funny? His eye caught on one of her curls that was out of place. He didn’t even realize he had reached out to fix it until it was too late. He quickly moved his hand away from her face before turning away. 

  
  


“Is there something on my face?” 

  
  


Nikki quickly turned away from the boys as she pulled her hand mirror out of her backpack, she checked her face quickly before spotting her stray hair. Before she could move she saw Shizuo reach out to smooth the hair down from her mirror. She closed her mirror and put it away before thanking Shizuo. 

  
  


“Uh, what’s next?” 

“On to the next scumbag.”

Tom sighed and shook his head, he hoped more than anything that the pair got together sooner than later. They were almost too perfect for each other.


End file.
